ADOPTED
Please read our dog bios carefully to be sure that the dog you are applying for suits your family and lifestyle. At Pound Dog Rescue, we believe in the benefits of post-adoption training for our dogs and their families. This allows for continued socialization, and learning and helps to create a well-mannered and balanced dog. Post-adoption training is a requirement in our adoption process.
Looking for a cute, playful, bundle of love who enjoys chasing a ball almost as much as he likes a lazy afternoon crate snooze? Meet Rupert; a ~3 year old English Bulldog mix who is a sturdy 40 pounds, with an adorable wrinkly face and splashes of orange-brown markings on top of his white, smooth fur.
Rupert is a typical bulldog with a fun, outgoing personality and large base of goofy expressions to match his every mood. Play time? This guy’s got a beaming smile from ear to ear. Time to relax? Catch him with his tongue poking out from his endearing underbite as he rests his eyes. Taking the garbage out? Rupert’s got the perfect look for that too; a cocked head, little ears that perk up, and inquisitive eyes. No matter the occasion, Rupert has got an expression that will make you laugh and warm your heart.
Why is a friendly, healthy, happy fella in rescue, you ask? Well, Rupert came to us from a commercial breeding operation and never knew how great life could be until he came into PDR’s care. Despite his less than ideal start to life, Rupert has adjusted remarkably well and has every desire to embrace the good life from here on out! When dogs come from these unfortunate situations, we typically see a scared or timid dog arriving into our care; not Rupert, though! From day one, he’s been friendly, outgoing, a people lover, and truly enjoys all the new exciting things that are a part of his new life (especially toys). Having never lived in a house before, he’s actively working on learning
house rules and manners. He can be rambunctious and playful; this can mean tumbling into furniture when he’s chasing his favourite toy, jumping up at humans who are chilled out on the couch, or getting into some general mischief – stealing slippers or thinking iPhone cords are toys are some go-to moves for him. He will eventually adjust to the fact that toys and friendly humans are with him forever now, and he doesn’t need to initiate play all the time. However, despite these “it’s always playtime” energy bursts, he’s quite happy to chill out in the crate to decompress as well. Especially if it’s after some night-time outdoor time, you might hear snores coming from the corner of the room when Rupert has suddenly realized he’s pooped from all that fun!
Rupert would be best suited to a house with a fenced yard. Rupert loves the yard, whether it’s sprinting around it like a little gazelle chasing his ball, or taking his time to sniff all of the interesting things back there! His foster home has a smaller yard, but he loves it just as much, running around in big circles with such agility and prowess that he might as well be competing at the Westminister dog show. He loves chasing the ball, or playfully chasing (or being chased by) his human if you’re in the mood to burn some calories too.
Rupert would love to find a family who can offer love, attention, ear scritches, and play time for a special guy like him. He loves to love; when he’s feeling sentimental and mushy, he will rest his head on you and look up with gentle eyes and relaxed ears, as if he’s thinking “how lucky am I?”. In terms of children, Rupert would do best with teens. Not only will they not be toppled over by 40 pounds of “Bulldog in a china shop” greatness, but teens can also assist with the basic dog training to ensure he continues to develop his house manners!
Rupert currently prefers the yard over walks as he’s adjusting to a new neighbourhood several weeks into foster care, but prior to the move, he was walking well on a leash. He doesn’t pull aggressively, walks at a steady pace, loves to take some sniff stops, and is overall very manageable to handle. When encountering squirrels he gets excited, and when crossing paths with other dogs he’s pretty unbothered and indifferent. While adjusting to his new neighbourhood, he’d protest walks by stubbornly laying down before we even left the front porch, so we’re sticking to the yard and will work back up to walks as he gets more comfortable. Potential adopters may see similar behaviours when Rupert is adjusting to his forever home.
Rupert is crated over the work day while his foster mom works from home, as he cannot yet be trusted to roam freely into the house without supervision. The entire work day, he is snoozing and quiet in the crate, happily nestled among his blankies. He’s happy to head into the crate if a tasty treat awaits him. He was vocal in the crate his first couple weeks in foster care, so adopters should be prepared that this behaviour could potentially return; however, all signs are currently pointing to Rupert now officially being a part of team “silent crate time”. He is slowly learning how to settle outside of the crate, but he is easily stimulated and will bounce from toy-to-toy, so his crate has been serving him as a calm and safe space to decompress.
If there was an award for “world’s most intimidating guard dog”, Rupert would not be winning it anytime soon. When his foster mom returns home, she’s often met by a snoring, fully relaxed Rupert, who barely notices her arrival. When strangers come into the home, he will happily accept all the ear scritches with a big smile on his face. If he’s a big fan, he might even bring them his favourite toy (which changes each day!). Aside from him being startled by certain sudden movements (i.e. if you pet him from behind and he can’t see you), he’s not afraid of people and loves everyone equally. His outgoing disposition has also been a great way to meet all of the neighbours!
Rupert does very well in the car and would be a great buddy to tag along on family adventures
Rupert has caught up to housetraining quickly, however, he still needs supervision as he doesn’t yet know how to alert that he needs to go outside. Until he learns how to indicate it’s time to do his business, having him out at regular intervals, and immediately after crate or play time, is the best strategy to avoid accidents.
In terms of other animals, Rupert was being fostered with two-large sized male dogs and 1 cat. Because of his “teenage” tendencies and energy levels, his foster brothers were finding him to be a bit too much at times. Rupert likes other dogs, but should be supervised when visiting with them to ensure that he isn’t pushing their boundaries. This is quite common for Bulldogs. They are an “all out” type of dog and don’t always take cues well from other dogs that they are being too much or the other dog is done playing. His energy levels and general demeanor would not make him suitable to a home with cats or small animals. And we have found he is much more settled and “himself” when he is not housed in a home with other dogs. He was just too over stimulated when other dogs were in the house. He can certainly have friend dogs, good walking buddies, but he would like to be the only dog living in the home.